Star-like aircraft internal combustion engines including circular case with mounted on it nine radial arranged cylinders and pistons lying in the same plane are already well-known. (For example:“Star-like aircraft engine cross section named Lajkoming” Eng. Julius Mezkerle, “Vehicle engines with air cooling” page 220, Moscow 1959; translation from Czech into Russian; Nine cylinder aircraft engine “AIII-62 P” Petr S. Labasin, “Aircraft engine AIII-62 P”, page 22, Moscow, 1972, including circular case with mounted on it and lying in one plane up to nine radial situated cylinders with pistons. The pistons are connected flexibly by piston bolts and by connecting rods with joined crankshaft. The crankshaft is put in the form of a bearing in the case center and it forms together with the connecting rods a joined crank mechanism.
A disadvantage of those engines is the kinematics of the crank mechanism where the reciprocating motion of the pistons is transformed into rotary motion of the crankshaft. Notwithstanding of the number of the radial arranged cylinders, each of the pistons performs two runnings only—from one end dead center to another such dead center and back—per one revolution of the crankshaft.
For example, if the four strokes cycle of the engine work is ensured, the crankshaft performs two revolutions. It reduces the power given away by one unit weight of the engine and it is necessary to rev the crankshaft revolutions in order to increase that power. The crankshaft revolutions revved increase the inertia forces and burden additionally the crank mechanism elements.
A disadvantage of the crank transforming mechanism is the presence of side friction force of the pistons on the walls of the cylinders which leads to losses due to the friction and higher wear and tear of those elements.
Another disadvantage of the crank transforming mechanism is the presence of a flexible hinged link in the piston which link is formed by itself, by the piston bolt, and by the head of the connecting rod. It increases the length of the guiding part of the pistons, of the total working length of the cylinders and thus it leads to the increase of the overall dimensions and of the engine weight.
A cross-like four pistons internal combustion engine without a connecting rod is also well-known. (Bulgarian authorship certificate No. 42948, published in bulletin No. 3/15.03.1988). The engine has been constructed on the basis of a regular hinged four-units which is deformed at work consequently into a rhomb at the two mutually perpendicular axes of the co-ordinates. The hinged four-units works on two rollers of the outgoing shaft and sets it in a rotary motion.
A disadvantage of that engine is as follows: the kinematics of the mechanism for transformation of the reciprocal motion of the pistons into a rotary motion of the outgoing shaft allows the construction of engines limited with four cross-like arranged cylinders only. That kinematics prohibition does not allow the use of the principle of fragmentation of the working engine volume into six, eight, twelve and more cylinders with smaller single volume in order to reduce the weight of the flexible elements and their inertia forces, to increase the revolutions, and to increase the specific power per unit working volume.
Another disadvantage of that engine is the inconsistency that crops up while making clear its kinematics. According to the description, the author's claims and the figure attached to them, the divisor diameter of the inner teeth (8) of the engine case (7) is equal to the doubled divisor diameter of the teeth segments (2), while the axis of the hinged links between the segments (2) and the piston rods (3) coincide with the divisor diameter of the tooth gearing.
It means that both rollers (9) which tumble on the inner arc-like side of the teeth segments (2), when they stand right on the axis line of the two opposite cylinders (6), they will have shoved out their two adjacent hinges (and their respective pistons) at the upper dead center, and the other two opposite hinges must coincide simultaneously in the center of the mechanism,and therefore they will hit each other. On the enclosed figure of the authorship certificate the two hinges are at the upper dead center, and the other two opposite ones do not reach the mechanism center, i.e. they are not at the lower dead center—and it is obligatory. That inconsistency has not been clarified anywhere in the description.
Another disadvantage of that engine is disclosed in the author's claim 2 which is not applicable because according to it “The axis of the hinged links between the teeth segments (2) and the piston rods (3) coincide with the divisor diameter of the teeth gearing”, and it is well-known from the theory of the cylindrical teeth drives that such a common “divisor diameter of teeth gearing does not exist”—there is always a tooth drive between two teeth elements, each one of them having its own divisor diameter. The more so as, “the axis of the hinged links between the teeth segments (2) and the piston rods (3) coincides with the divisor diameter of the gearing” only at the moment of motion of the units when two of those axes are at the upper dead center. Only then those axes coincide at the same time with the divisor circumference of the engine case and of the divisor circumferences of the segments, but even at that moment almost the whole segments and the other two axes are far away from such coincidence.
A disadvantage of the engine from authorship certificate No. 42948 appears the engine shaft which is complicated enough for the purpose of mounting and dismounting.—“The engine shaft lies on the axis of the engine case (7), and it is joined with two discs with shafts at their outer side, while the shafts have been put in the form of a bearing in the lids of the engine case (7), and the two axes (1) have been fixed between the discs; those axes are situated symmetrically to the axis of the engine shaft. Two rollers (3) are put in the form of a bearing on the axes; the outer radius of the rollers is equal to the inner radius of the teeth segments (2)”.
Therefore, the teeth segments (2) lie between the two discs of the build-up shaft, and the same one cannot be mounted or dismounted separately as a shaft set, and those operations have to be made by means of technological manipulations with the whole engine which makes the mounting and dismounting work complex.
A general disadvantage of the internal combustion engines working with crankshaft transforming mechanism as well as of the engine without a connecting rod according to the authorship certificate No. 42948 is the fixed kinematics dependence between the revolutions of the outgoing engine shaft and the stroke frequency of their pistons. It is two strokes of the pistons per one revolution of the crankshaft in the crankshaft transforming mechanism, regardless of the cylinders number in the engine, and four piston strokes per one revolution of the engine shaft in the cross-like four cylinders engine without a connecting rod according to the authorship certificate above. It is impossible by programming a big number of piston strokes per time unit in advance to create an engine with lower revolutions of the outgoing engine shaft, which depending on the number of the cylinders with corresponding increase of the rotary moment not to use additional reduction gear. Such a possibility is particularly useful in engines for setting in motion of transport vehicles.
Thus, the object of the invention is to create a method of construction, and to design the structure of an internal combustion engine without a connecting rod with six and more even number of the arc-like units, whereat the number of the strokes of the pistons in the working cylinders from one end position to another end position must be greater than four per one revolution of the outgoing engine shaft, and the number of their strokes must depend on the number of the arc-like units; and at their increase to reduce the kinematically the revolutions of the outgoing engine shaft in order to increase the outgoing rotary moment of the shaft, without using additional reduction gear; and to ensure kinematically that the opposite hinged links of the arc-like units at their inner end position do not reach the mechanism center in order to prevent their hitting and ensure the mounting and dismounting of the engine shaft, together with the mounted on it driving rollers, with their axes, without disturbing the mounting of the arc-like units and their hinged links with the pistons.
Further object of the invention of the internal combustion engine without a connecting rod with six and more even number of arc-like units is the elimination of the piston side force on the working cylinders.